


Uncle JB Babo! Uncle Jae Babo!

by GoddessOfDestruction



Category: GOT7
Genre: 2Jae, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Basically This Is All Fluff, Bi!Jaebum, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, Established Park Jinyoung | Jr./Mark Tuan, Friends to Lovers, Gay!Youngjae, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-01-06 23:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12221475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoddessOfDestruction/pseuds/GoddessOfDestruction
Summary: When Jinyoung's father suddenly passes away, he and Mark have to travel to South Korea for the funeral, leaving their four-year-old son Samuel under the care of their friends Jaebum and Youngjae.In only a matter of days, Samuel manages to make his Uncles do the one thing they've been disregarding for way too long now: admit that they love each other.





	1. Chapter 1

“Seriously, we can’t thank you guys enough,” Mark says as he walks in the apartment, carrying a small suitcase and a backpack. “And I’m sorry for dropping him off now. We’re leaving on the first flight tomorrow and there was no way we could bring him in the morning. We’d let him stay with my parents but they are out of town. I know they’d come back right away to watch Sammy but Jinyoung didn’t let me call me them. We thought of leaving Sammy with Bam and Yugie, or with Jackson, but we feared that their physical and mental health wouldn’t last for that long. Neither would Sammy’s, to be honest.”

Jaebum has to hold back an amused snort; he has never heard Mark speak so much before. He’s looking around, clearly looking for someone, so Jaebum tells him, “Jae is already sleeping. I’d go wake him up but you know how hard that is. He sleeps like a log, _even more_ than he already does, when he knows that he won’t be working the next day.”

“Oh, right, shit,” he grumbles, “he did say that his vacation started this week. And yours t –”

“It’s fine, Mark,” he points at the couch, letting him know that he can put the bags there. “My plans could be resumed to waking up at noon and chilling on the couch in my birthday suit. Guess I can do that another time.”

“Alright, but what about Youngjae’s plans?”

“He’d be playing videogames 24/7 like the addict that he is.”

He heaves a sigh as he drops both bags on the couch. “I didn’t want to send Jinyoung on his own, this is dad’s funeral. And, obviously we didn’t want to take Sammy with us either.”

“For the last time, it’s fine,” Jaebum reassures him again. “Where’s Jinyoung anyway?” 

Mark walks over to the window and looks down at his car parked at the entrance of the building, trying to spot his husband, “Sammy was sleeping and Jinyoung said he’d bring him up,” he steps away from the window. “He’s bringing him in the car seat ‘cause, you know, just in case you need it.” Tapping the suitcase, he explains, “Here are Sammy’s clothes and such, and on this one,” he points at the _Avengers_ backpack, “there are a couple of toys. If there’s anything you need, you can go to the house. You know where we keep the spare key.”

“Don't worry. We’re gonna be just fine.”

Hearing the elevator’s door opening, Mark adverts his friend, “Oh, and Jinyoung’s gonna lecture you on Sammy’s routine. I’d tell you about it but I don’t think you’ll want to hear it twice. Just pass on the details to Youngjae, and could you just – give Jinyoung a break, alright? He’s really stressed and this is the first time we’re gonna be away from Sammy for this long.”

“I know Jinyoung since he was five and still sucked on his paci. I know with whom I dealing with.”

Jinyoung enters the apartment, clearly struggling as he carries the car seat with a sleeping [Sammy](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/94/c0/47/94c047e897be27c5500447ddd3d821c4.jpg) still in it, nose buried in his [stuffed bear](https://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=24781402%20). Mark rushes to help him and in a low voice he tells him that he’ll unbuckle the boy.

“You can put him in my bed,” Jaebum tells Mark, before turning his attention to Jinyoung.

“Thanks for doing this,” Jinyoung says, his voice sounds weak and strained. He – obviously – doesn’t look good.

Jaebum pulls his friend for a hug, clapping on his back, “I'm sorry for your loss. Extend my condolences to Auntie and your noonas.”

“Thanks, J,” Jinyoung sighs and takes a step back. He blinks hard, stopping the tears to spill from his eyes. “I assume Youngjae is already sleeping, so please tell him what I’m gonna tell you. Sammy usually gets up at around 8 but since it’s the summer vacation and we leave him at Mark’s parents instead of the kindergarten, he wakes up about an hour or so later. But, even though he gets up later, he still goes down for a nap, at 1 or 2 in the afternoon,” Jinyoung explains; Jaebum resorts to nodding his head, attentively listening to him. “Bath time is at 6ish and you should put him to sleep around 9.”

Mark joins them and laces his arm around his husband’s waist, “We should to get going, Youngie. We need to get some sleep –”

“Does it look like I want or _can_ have any sleep?”

The way Jinyoung glares Mark is enough to send shivers down his spine. Adding to the glare, he also grumbles something under his breath in Korean, full southeastern dialect spilling from his mouth. Mark’s whole body stiffs, and not in the good kind of way.

“I’m gonna kiss Sammy goodbye.”

“Don’t wake him up,” Jinyoung warns.

Mark sighs and lets it slide; Jinyoung is going through too much at the moment. He just got a call saying that his father has passed away. They literally shoved some clothes into a suitcase, booked a flight to South Korea, cancelled the family’s two weeks’ vacation in Hawaii, and drove to the Jaebum’s and Youngjae’s shared apartment.

"Don't forget that he's allergic to strawberries. And always take Bubba," Jinyoung is referring to Sammy's stuffed bear, "whenever you leave the house."

“Does he know you guys are gonna be away?"

Jinyoung shakes his head, "I just got the call and he was already sleeping. Not that I think that I could tell him the truth anyway. By the way, if you know how to explain the concept of death without traumatizing a four-year-old, go for it. Mark and I would be eternally grateful to you."

"I think we can come up with a lie and leave that to you guys. Same goes for the bees and the birds talk."

"Yeah, no, don’t worry about that,” Jinyoung sketches a small smile. “We wouldn't trust you two with that one anyway."

“What’s that supposed –”

"Mind if I go kiss him goodbye?" Jinyoung asks, pointing in the general direction of Jaebum's bedroom.

Jaebum shrugs, “Your kid, no need to ask.”

“Your house, though, idiot,” Jinyoung replies already on his way to Jaebum’s bedroom.

Mark and Jinyoung are leaving the apartment a few minutes later, after a couple more advices and the promise to call at least once a day. Jaebum grabs the two bags and takes them to his bedroom, taking the opportunity to check on Sammy who sleeps soundly, curled up under the bed sheets. He leaves the door ajar and finds himself padding the way to Youngjae’s bedroom. Just like their faux nephew, Youngjae is sleeping too. He throws himself onto the couch, a small smile playing with his lips. Since it’s still early to go to sleep, he thinks of trying to catch up with the latest season of _Games of Thrones_.

\---

When he cracks one eye open, Jaebum is surprised to find that he has fallen asleep. He checks the hours on his phone, realizing that it’s 8:30. He remembers Jinyoung telling him that Sammy is still adjusting to the summer schedule, so he figures that Sammy will awake up any minute now. Slowly, stretching out his back, Jaebum stands up from the couch and shuts the TV off, interrupting yet another death scene. Yawning and scratching the back of his head he heads to the kitchen to make some pancakes.

After putting some food in Coco’s and Nora’s bowls, he starts to prepare breakfast. He drops the bowl to the counter with a louder bang than he intended; pausing for a second, he strains to hear any noise. Sammy appears to still be asleep – Youngjae too – so he continues to cook. He is too focused on mixing and measuring the batter that he doesn’t hear the pitter-patter of Sammy’s bare feet.

“Daddy? Appa?” Sammy’s voice gets louder as he comes closer to the kitchen, cuddling his teddy bear against his chest. He recognizes this as his Uncles’ apartment but he has no idea how he got here. “Where are –” his voice breaks off when he takes in the sight of his Uncle cooking.

Jaebum looks back and grins at the kid in dinosaur pajamas, “Hey, kiddo. Sleep good?”

“How did I got here?” he asks. “And where are Daddy and Appa?”

Shit, he didn’t have time yet to think of what to tell Sammy.

“You’re going to spend a few days with me and Uncle Jae. Isn’t that cool?”

“Super cool,” Sammy smiles and grabs onto the counter, scrambling up onto the barstool. “Did they go to get my baby brot –” he clamps his mouth, eyes growing wide; Bubba falls down on the floor.

“What was that?” Jaebum turns, a smirk on his face. “You’re gonna be a big brother, kiddo?”

Sammy nods his head proudly, “P’omise not to tell Daddy and Appa. I wasn’t ‘pposed to tell anyone.”

“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. And yeah, I think that they are taking care of things because of your baby brother, that’s why you’re staying with us,” Jaebum says, using the recently learnt piece of news to his advantage. “Are you excited to be a big brother?” He asks, not knowing if there’s going to be another Park-Tuan kid running around, but knowing that continuing with the conversation will prevent Sammy from asking about Jinyoung and Mark.

“Yeah. His name is Danny. Our names sound funny. Samuel and Daniel, Sammy and Danny.”

“They rhyme,” Jaebum explains; Sammy cocks his head to the side, not quite understanding the meaning of the word. The man leans back against the counter, “It means that they have almost the same sound. Samu _el_ , Dani _el_ , Samm _y_ , Dann _y,_ ” he explains, empathizing the similar sounds.

“Uncle JB,” he whines, pointing at the frying pan, “you’re makin’ the ‘cakes into fire!”

Jaebum spins on his heels, and sure enough, the pancakes on the skillet were smoking.

“Shit!” Jaebum curses before he can stop himself.

Sammy grins mischievously, “You saided a bad word! Shit!”

“Don’t say that,” he says, desperately trying to save the pancakes.

“Shit,” he repeats.

“Yah,” he growls, “that’s not something you should be saying, kid. Your Dads are gonna kill me.”

“Um,” the boy taps his chin with his index finger before saying, “I won’t tell Daddy and Appa that you saided a bad word if you let me have ice cream.”

“You know, I’d be really upset if you didn’t eat my pancakes,” Jaebum tells him, disposing of the burnt pancake in the trash. He drops more batter onto the skillet, planning on watching it more carefully this time. “Maybe we can go out for ice cream after lunch?”

Sammy thinks about it for a minute, “A’right.”

“And you promise not to repeat that word again?”

“Pinky p’omise.”

Jaebum nods his head, proud, “Good kid.”

Sammy climbs down from the barstool and stands next to Jaebum, on the tip of his toes, watching him cook.

“You know what you could do?” Jaebum asks as he’s sliding two pancakes onto a plate. Sammy looks at him, waiting to hear his Uncle’s request, “Wake up Uncle Jae.”

“But he – he doesn’t like waking up. He flaps his arms like this,” the kid explains, shaking his whole body like he’s having an epileptic episode. “And he kicks too!”

Jaebum chuckles, acknowledging Sammy’s statement, even though he’s exaggerating a bit, “I know, but I think you can wake him up. I’ll give you an extra pancake if you get him out of bed.”

“Don’t forget the ice cream!” Sammy says, already dashing out the kitchen.

Sammy stands by the side of Youngjae’s bed and stares at his Uncle sleeping for a while – ten seconds, at the most, because that’s how patient a child of his age is – before patting him on the shoulder. He doesn’t even bulge so Sammy closes his fist and smacks him on the upper arm. Youngjae lets out a low grumble but continues to sleep. The kid huffs and stomps his foot, upset. He starts repeatedly hitting him on the upper arm with both his hands closed. He doesn’t have much – or any – strength but his bony fists leave Youngjae’s muscles tingling.

“Awake up, Uncle Jae!” he whines, still punching him. “Uncle JB is makin’ pancakes! Awake up!”

“Shh,” Youngjae mumbles, a hand emerging from under the covers, gently clamping Sammy’s mouth.

Sammy climbs onto the bed and jumps up and down, nonstop, saying, “Wake up!”

Youngjae lets Sammy jump in bed for a while before sitting up all of the sudden and pulling him to his lap, tickling his sides for a good measure. Sammy shrieks with laughter, kicking his feet.

“Pancakes you said?” Youngjae asks once he stops tickling the boy. Sammy nods his head, breathing hard from laughing. “Let’s have breakfast then before Uncle JB eats everything.”

Youngjae lets Sammy slid down the bed while he gets up but, even before they leave his bedroom, the young man tosses the kid over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and tickles his feet while carrying him all the way to the kitchen. There’s a plate with pancakes on top of the island countertop; Jaebum has his back turned to the door and is preparing two cups of coffee. The sight is dreamy to say the least.

“I knew you could wake up Uncle Jae,” Jaebum says when he hears Youngjae entering the kitchen, sitting Sammy on the barstool.

“I get an extra pancake then?”

“Yup. Three pancakes for you.”

Jaebum can’t hide his smile when he turns around to place the two cups of steamy coffee over the island countertop; Youngjae is blinking, trying to keep his eyes open, his face is puffy and his hair is a mess. Jaebum wants to put a million kisses all over his face. He shakes his head, pushing away those thoughts when he notices Youngjae discreetly looking at Sammy and then at him, clearly wondering why their faux-nephew is at their apartment.

“Later, ‘k?” Jaebum whispers.

Youngjae nods in agreement and starts helping him out. He fetches two plates from the cabinet; he serves a plate with three pancakes – Sammy’s – one with two pancakes – Jaebum’s – and keeps the remaining two that last in the plate for himself. As soon as Youngjae puts the maple syrup on top of the counter, Sammy reaches for it. He pours a very generous amount onto his pancakes before digging into it, pulling the warm dough apart with his hands. Jaebum grabs a cup from the cabinet above the sink and walks to the fridge.

“Milk or juice, kiddo?”

“D’ ya have choco milk?” Sammy asks after swallowing the wad of food in his cheeks.

“Sorry. We only have regular milk.”

“Juice then, please.”

Jaebum nods as he closes the fridge’s door with his foot after filling the cup with orange juice. “I think we have to go grocery shopping later today,” he tells Youngjae who simply nods. “We don’t have food that suits the liking of a four-year-old. And we are running out of things.”

The three are having breakfast, and even though the food is warm and delicious, Youngjae feels something strange, something cool pooling in his stomach. They only own two barstools so Jaebum is forced to eat standing on the opposite side of the countertop; his forearms are resting on its surface, his body is slightly leaning forward, as he digs into his pancakes with a smile. Youngjae loves how soft and caring Jaebum actually is; his appearance makes him seem like a cold, scary guy when in fact he’s none of that.

“Are those good?” Jaebum asks, looking up at Sammy.

“Ya mske ths bsth panscakes eva!” the boy replies, little bits of food flying out of his mouth.

“Good to know, but don’t speak with your mouth full. And chew slowly, the pancakes are not gonna run away.” Leaning forward, Jaebum wipes the corners of Sammy’s mouth with his thumb, “You know, you’re gonna be spending four days with me and Uncle Jae. If there’s any place you’d like to go, Uncle and Jae and I can take you there,” he casts a look at Youngjae, “right?”

“Yes, of course.” He strokes Sammy’s messy bed-styled hair. “Would you like to go the zoo or –”

“Um, Appa and Daddy take me to the zoo lotsa times,” Sammy says. “But could we go to the movies. And to the beach,” by now he’s bouncing on his seat.

Youngjae instinctively puts a hand around the boy’s waist, to keep him from falling down the barstool, “I guess we can go to all those places. I mean, it’s four days.”

“And you don’t have to work?” the kid looks from one of his uncles to the other.

Jaebum shakes his head as he swallows the food he has in his mouth, “I’m on vacation and so is Uncle Jae.”

“Cool, then tomorrow can we go to the beach?”

“We’ll decide on that tomorrow, kiddo. Right now, finish those pancakes and then let’s get you dressed up.”

Sammy crinkles his nose, “I don’t wanna dress up.”

“I’m going to take Coco out for a walk and I was going to take you with me, but I guess I won’t since you don’t want to change your clothes,” Youngjae tells him. “Do you want everyone to see your dinosaur pajamas?”

He nods excitedly, “Yeah! I’m the ruler of the dinosaurs!”

“Well, dinosaur rulers wear jeans,” Jaebum says. “They even brush their teeth!”

“Really?” Sammy regards his Uncle with a skeptical look.

“Really,” Youngjae chimes with an enthusiastic tone.

Jaebum wipes Sammy’s hands and mouth with the dish cloth before lifting him up under the armpits and put him down on the floor. “C’mon, I’ll give you your clothes.”

Sammy follows Jaebum to his bedroom, walking in little skips. Jaebum opens the small suitcase and takes out a pair of jeans, a sleeveless shirt, a pair of socks and Velcro-closure sneakers. While Sammy proceeds to strip off his pajamas, Jaebum finds the boy’s toothbrush, his kid-friendly toothpaste and his hairbrush. He makes the way to the bathroom, squirts some toothpaste onto his toothbrush and fills a cup with water, so that he can brush his teeth on his own. Before heading to the kitchen, he tells the kid that he has everything set in the bathroom to brush his teeth – and that he should wash his face and comb his hair too.

“Ok, he’s getting dressed now so it’s a good time for us to talk,” Jaebum says when he enters the kitchen. Youngjae is already washing the used dishes, so Jaebum grabs a clean dish cloth and starts drying them. “Jinyoung and Mark dropped him off last night. They called me about an hour after you went to bed, asking me if we could look after him for a few days. Jinyoung’s father passed away and –”

“Oh,” Youngjae lets out in a clear sad tone. Then he sounds upset, “And why didn’t you wake me up? I should have given my condolences to Jinyoung. Now he’s gonna think that I’m –”

“He was too strained to even process anything. I’m sure he’s not thinking anything bad about you. And he and Mark said they’d call everyday so you can talk with him then.” Youngjae nods and heaves a sigh; Jaebum continues, “So, Sammy awakes up at around 9, goes down for a nap at 1 or 2, takes a bath at around 6 and should be in bed by 9. Mark and Jinyoung left us with two bags, one with clothes, the other with toys. Anything we need, we can go to their house. I’m sorry,” he stops while putting away the plates in the cabinet, “I’ve been saying _we_ but I don’t even know if you have plans. I can look after him –”

“Hyung, you know I have no plans,” he hands over the washed cutlery to Jaebum and dries his hands with a few paper towels, “’sides, it’s only for a couple of days, what can go wrong? By the way, does Sammy know why –”

“No, he thinks they went to get his baby brother.” Jaebum then adds, mostly to himself, “I can’t forget to tell that to Mark and Jinyoung when they call.”

“They’re adopting another kid?”

“I don’t know,” Jaebum shrugs and turns around. “He’s four. You can’t really believe everything he says.”

Youngjae picks up Sammy’s stuffed bear that is still on the kitchen floor – luckily Coco hadn’t yet seen it or else she would have shredded it to bits by now – and says on his way out of the kitchen, “I’m gonna check on him and get dressed too.”

Jaebum nods, focusing on the task at hands when Nora rubs against his legs. He looks down at his cat and asks, “What can go wrong, girl? Nothing, right?”


	2. Chapter 2

Youngjae realizes that giving a dog’s squeaky ball to a four-year-old is a mistake. While he’s putting his sneakers on, the two of them waiting for Jaebum, Sammy is squeezing the ball, running around the apartment. Coco is hysterical, chasing the kid, barking, which makes Nora, who was sleeping on the windowsill, upset, hissing at the dog. (Not to mention the downstairs’ neighbors who are probably pissed off with the noise by now.) Youngjae ends up putting the ball in the pocket of his hoodie and puts the leash on Coco.

"Uncle JB, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he says, showing up in the living room, still buttoning his shirt. "What's the reason for all this hurry?"

"Coco wants to play in the park," Sammy explains.

“Are you sure it's _just_ Coco who wants to play in the park?"

Youngjae smirks with that remark as he opens the front door and steps outside the apartment with Coco. While Jaebum grabs his keys and phone, Sammy has already darted to the elevator. Out of excitement, he karate kicks the opposite wall. Then he remembers Daddy telling him not to kick things, so he immediately leans forward and examines the wall, hoping that he didn’t leave any scuffmark behind.

“Something’s wrong?” Jaebum asks with a smirk.

Sammy’s gasps loudly as his little body spasms, startled. He takes a few steps back and mumbles, “No, nothin’ wrong.”

Jaebum presses the elevator button and tells him, “Kicking things is bad, you know that, don’t you?”

“I know,” Sammy looks down at his feet. “Sorry.”

Soft-hearted Youngjae rests his hand on the boy’s shoulder, stroking his arm’s bare skin with his thumb, “We’re not mad. Just don’t do it again, ok?”

Youngjae and Jaebum's apartment building is near a park, so they quickly get there. Once they are at the park, Youngjae lets the boy hold Coco's leash. Sammy walks ahead of his uncles while the two follow him at a slower pace.

"I think he runs on solar power," Jaebum comments.

"I love him, but I can't wait for him to go down for a nap so that we can get some rest."

“Are you implying that you’re gonna take a nap with him?”

“You know I like sleeping. And besides,” Youngjae casts a look at Jaebum, “I know I’ll be the one playing with him while you take care of lunch, so I’m sure he’ll exhaust me.”

Sammy comes running to them, pulling a somewhat reluctant Coco along, “Can I play with Coco over there?” he points at the grassy area where there are a few benches and some people lying around, sunbathing.

“Knock yourself out,” Jaebum tells him. “Uncle Jae and I will take a seat on one of the benches.”

The kid happily shrieks when Youngjae unclips Coco’s leash and gives him the dog’s red squeaky ball. The two young men take a seat on one of the benches, watching Sammy playing with the dog. Youngjae can’t help but to notice how Jaebum looks extra gorgeous under the sunlight, a soft smile playing with his lips.

“Do you want one too?”

Jaebum looks at his friend, “Not right now. But in the future, yes. I want to have a few of them.”

“A few of them?” Youngjae quietly chuckles, eyes growing bigger.

“I grew up as an only child and even though it had its perks, it had its downsides too. My parents played a lot with me but it’s not the same. You know what I mean, you have siblings.”

“My sister used me as a baby in her mommy-pretend-plays and my brother used me as a target whenever we played soccer,” Youngjae says.

“Ok, things may have not been perfect back then but you can always get your revenge on them now, Sunshine,” Jaebum smiles and Youngjae mimics the action. “But what about you? Do you want to have some mini-you’s running around?”

“One day, yeah. I just need to find someone first.”

Jaebum elbows Youngjae on the arm, “Tell you what, if we’re still single when we’re forty, we get married and adopt some kids. What do you say?” He stretches out his hand, “Do we have a deal?”

“We have to talk about the conditions of this agreement.”

“We’ll talk about ‘em when the time comes around, Jae. So, do we have a deal or not?” Youngjae shakes Jaebum’s hand but starts laughing. “What? Are you laughing at me? Why’re you –”

“It’s not you. Look,” Youngjae manages to say, pointing in the general direction where Sammy and Coco are playing.

Jaebum has a laugh too. The roles have reversed; Coco is now kicking the ball away and letting Sammy run to get it and bring it back.

Sammy and Coco play like that for a while more until the dog lies down on the grass, tongue lolling out of her mouth. The dog is tired and the kid is bored out of his mind. He runs the few steps to his uncles who are chatting.

“There’s a playground over there,” he points to the other side of the park. “Can I go play in there? Coco is tired.”

The two adults exchange a look before getting up. Jaebum challenges Sammy for a run to the playground so the two sprint ahead of Youngjae who’s still clipping Coco’s leash. He carries the dog in arms, though, and when he gets to the playground, Jaebum is already pushing Sammy on the swings. Youngjae takes a seat again, Coco lying down under the bench where he sits. Sammy ends up befriending other kids, which allows Jaebum to take a seat and get some rest. They don’t have a clue of what time it is until Youngjae’s stomach growls, loudly. He pulls out of his phone and checks the hours, proceeding to show it to Jaebum.

“I think it’s time for us to go. It’s almost lunchtime,” Jaebum gets up and beckons Sammy.

He comes running to him in little hops, “What’s up?”

“We have to go now. It’s almost lunchtime.”

Sammy’s lower lip curls in a pout. “I don’t wanna go home.”

“You can play more at the apartment with me while Uncle Jaebum cooks,” Youngjae proposes. “What do you say?”

“Fine,” Sammy looks at Jaebum, “Can you carry me on your shoulders to the ‘partment?”

Jaebum’s picks Sammy up under the armpits and sits him on his shoulders. Jinyoung is always saying that Sammy shouldn't be carried around too much; some psycho-babble about creating a dependency on the boy and things like that. However, Sammy is the only kid that Jaebum knows, so he is, by default, the cutest. And damn, didn't he have his Uncle wrapped around his little finger.

They have just exited the park and are about to cross the street, after the lights having changed, when Sammy looks down, “Hold hands! We’re crossing the street. You gotta hold hands.”

Jaebum and Youngjae hold each other’s hand before their brains even processes what is happening. They cross the street but continue to hold hands, their fingers intertwined. It feels nice to walk around town like this; the two of them, a dog, a kid. It feels very nice indeed. They only let go of each other’s hand when they are standing in front of the apartment building and Jaebum puts Sammy down on the ground.

As soon as they enter the apartment, Coco goes to drink some water from her bowl and then lies down in her little bed, dozing off. No one had ever managed to tire her as much as Sammy did. Speaking of him, the kid goes to Jaebum’s bedroom and brings his _Avengers_ backpack, opens it and pours out all the toys on the floor. Jaebum is already on the kitchen, debating on what to cook for lunch, and Youngjae is staring at the floor, superhero action figures, _Lego_ pieces and a bunch of _Hot Wheels_ are scattered a bit everywhere.   

“Can you play superheroes with me?” Sammy asks, already shoving an action figure in Youngjae’s hand, “Here, you’re The Hulk, I’ll be Thor.”

Youngjae takes a seat on the floor and tries to follow along with Sammy’s narrative. Jaebum steals a glance at them every now and then. He can’t help but to smile softly; Youngjae is naturally good with kids, despite what he says. It is true that at first he’s shy and awkward around them, trying to fit in the best he can, but once he starts being himself, the kids fall in love with him, and helplessly, Jaebum falls even more in love with him.

Soon enough the ‘ _play superheroes with me_ ’ turns into ‘ _let me ride your back while you crawl around the house on all four_ ’. Youngjae doesn’t mind crawling around on all four with Sammy on his back, but he can’t deny that he feels a little awkward doing that when he knows that Jaebum is looking at him. It doesn’t either help seeing _that_ smirk on Jaebum’s face every time they lock eyes. It gets bothersome to the point where Youngjae asks the kid to climb down and put his toys away while he sets table. Sammy dutifully pushes all of his toys to the corner of the living room (clearly not what Youngjae had asked him to do) and is shadowing his Uncle not even a minute after. Jaebum frowns, seeing Youngjae and Sammy taking the tableware to the living room, putting them over the coffee table.

“Why are we eating in the living room?” Jaebum asks, having a last taste of the meal he cooked, to make sure it’s ready to be served.

“’cause we only have two barstools and we’re not repeating what happened at breakfast,” he explains, opening the fridge to get the juice bottle. “None of us will eat standing. Now, c’mon, bring the food. We’re starving.”

Jaebum shakes his head, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips. He grabs the cooking pot and takes it to the living room, placing it in the middle of the coffee table. Youngjae and Sammy have put three pillows on the floor, so that they can sit more comfortably. Sammy leans over the table, peeking into the pot once Jaebum takes its lid away.

“Spaghetti with tomato sauce and chicken,” Jaebum says. “Hope you guys like it.”

To say that Jaebum’s meal is good is an understatement. The three of them eat everything down to the last strand of spaghetti. Sammy, face smeared with sauce, says he’s still not full yet, and picks an apple as his dessert (he has completely forgotten about the ice cream deal he made with Jaebum that morning). Jaebum and Youngjae are doing the dishes when they look back at Sammy who is eating on the couch as he watches TV. However, right now, he is neither eating nor watching TV; he has slumped over to the side, the half-eaten apple is almost falling from his hand as he peacefully sleeps. Youngjae carefully picks him up and carries him to his bed, hoping that he’ll take a good nap. When he returns to the living room, Jaebum is putting Sammy’s toys back in his backpack, before Coco and Nora steal and break them. Youngjae helps him.

“How much time do you think we have before he wakes up?” Youngjae asks.

Jaebum shrugs, “Don’t know. Probably an hour. Two at the most. Why?”

“Just asking.” When Jaebum focus on their task again, Youngjae speaks, “It’s just – do you mind going grocery shopping with him, alone? I –”

“I mind, yes. A lot. I’m not leaving you at the house playing videogames while I have to go to the store with a four-year-old.”

Youngjae smiles cheekily, “You’re scared he’ll throw a tantrum, Bumie?”

“A little bit, yes.” Youngjae laughs but quickly clamps his mouth to avoid being loud and waking Sammy up. “He’s a good kid, but it’s Walmart. It’s a big store, there are toys in there and…” Jaebum heaves a sigh, “Come with me – with us, I mean.”

“No need for puppy-dog eyes, hyung," Youngjae says, covering Jaebum's eyes with his hand. "I’ll go.”

The two then take a seat at the couch, Jaebum reading a book and Youngjae watching soccer games’ recaps. Youngjae did say earlier that he’d probably take a nap too but Jaebum didn’t really believe him. (Well, he might have believed him a little, but _just_ a little). Not even fifteen minutes after having taken a seat next to Jaebum, Youngjae is soundly sleeping, head resting on his shoulder. When Jaebum realizes that Youngjae is sleeping, he puts his book away before dropping a kiss on the top of his head. Resting his cheek on the top of Youngjae’s head, he closes his eyes too and dozes off for a little while too. 

\----

Two hours later, Sammy awakes up fully energized after his nap; his Uncles are not exactly with the same levels of energy. The trip to the store has Sammy excited and very quickly he puts on his sneakers, grabs Bubba and a couple of _Hot Wheels_ , and impatiently waits for Youngjae and Jaebum by the door. The two of them are on their phones, Googling how to install a car seat. After two or three videos later, they believe that they’ll know how to do it.

The little boy is now sitting on the building’s entrance step, playing with his cars, making _vroom_ noises with his mouth, while the two young men are trying to install the car seat. Jaebum is trying to put the seat belt through the car seat but he seems to be having a hard time.

“Are you sure that the car doesn’t have the LATCH system?”

“I don’t know,” Jaebum says, “I don’t have kids so I didn’t ask the salesman about it.”

Poking his head inside the car, Youngjae asks again, "Did you release the seat’s tensioner?"

Jaebum is panting, tired, his hot breath tickling Youngjae’s lips as he turns to look at him, "I don't even know if it has one."

"I think it does, and you should have checked that already. It's easier to put the seat belt through if the tensioner is released."

Taking a deep breath, Jaebum asks, "Where’s that damn thing anyway?"

"Here,” Youngjae bends over Jaebum and releases the lever, “released. Put the seat belt through now."

Jaebum tries to move but Youngjae is _right there_ , “Step back, will you?” Youngjae raises his arms up as he takes a couple of steps back. The clicking sound of the seat belt being buckled is heard. "Alright, done. Anything else?"

"Now apply the tensioner and anchor the seat with the tether.” Jaebum pulls the tensioner lever in and then looks at Youngjae, puzzled. “This,” he grabs the piece of fabric that hangs from the top of the car seat and wiggles it, showing it to him. “It goes over the seat and latches onto a metal anchor on the back.”

“I understand that this is for the kids’ security, but goddamn,” he whines, getting on his knees on the car’s cushioned seat, pulling the tether strap with him. “Latched. _Anything else_?”

“Now you just need to check if the seat is tightly fit."

Jaebum tries to move the car seat but it won’t bulge. “All seems ok. Wow,” he gets out of the car, a few drops of sweat are forming on his forehead, “this is too tiring.”

It only took them ten minutes to install a car seat. No biggie, right?

“C’mon, kiddo,” Jaebum claps his hands, getting Sammy’s attention, “your dumb Uncles managed to install your car seat.”

“You’re the only dumb here, hyung,” Youngjae says, climbing onto the passenger’s seat.

“Yeah,” Sammy agrees, walking to Jaebum, “Daddy and Appa only take like a minute.”

“I did all the work here,” Jaebum mumbles, buckling Sammy in his seat.

The way to the supermarket is done in relative silence. The front windows are down, a warm breeze rolls in, the radio plays catchy pop songs, Youngjae sings along, Sammy plays with Bubba and his cars, and Jaebum keeps on stealing glances at Youngjae and Sammy, hoping to one day be doing this with Youngjae but with their own kid in the backseat.  

“Ok, kiddo, here’s the deal,” Jaebum begins, holding Sammy’s hand as the three stroll down the parking lot to the shopping carts’ bay, “you get to pick the things you like to eat, but you can’t take _everything_. You’re gonna be with us for a couple of days, not a whole month.”

“Got it,” Sammy says.

Spoiler alert: he didn’t _really_ get it.

After they get a shopping cart, Sammy wants to ride in it; Youngjae and Jaebum let him because that makes shopping easier since they won’t have to be chasing a four-year-old around Walmart. Jaebum and Youngjae both push the cart around the store, strategically heading only for the grocery’s aisles. The trip to the store isn’t as chaotic as Jaebum predicted. Well, mostly. Sammy couldn’t pick a brand of cereals so he wanted to take them all before settling for Cookie Crisps, he accidentally cleared out half a shelf of sweets into the cart while grabbing a chocolate bar, he opened a bag of chips while his uncles were distracted, and he wanted to pee three times in the span of an hour, but other than that nothing major happened. Currently they are in the beverages aisle; Sammy is bored, swinging his legs as he plays with Bubba, waiting for his Uncles to finally find _the_ brand of beer that they both like to drink.

“Uncle Jae? Uncle JB?” Sammy says in a sing-song tone. “Can we go to the toys’ aisle?”

“There are no toys in Walmart, kiddo,” Jaebum lies, not taking his eyes off of the shelves.

“Yes, there are. Daddy and Appa take me there every time we come here. Can we go there? Please, please, please? I jus’ can’t find The Falcon anywhere and he’s the only ‘venger I don’t have.”

Youngjae catches the look that Sammy is giving them. He sighs. One pout and a set of puppy-dog eyes and Sammy gets his uncles to trip over their feet and do what he wants.

“He _kinda_ behaved himself,” Youngjae whispers at Jaebum, handing him a six-pack of beer.

“Fine,” Jaebum gives in, not being able to say no neither to Sammy nor Youngjae.

Pushing the shopping cart in the direction of the toys’ aisle, they pass by the pets’ corridor.

Youngjae stops Jaebum, remembering, “Wait, Coco is almost out of food.”

“Yeah, Nora too. Why don’t you guys go check on the toys while I get their food? I’ll wait for you two by the checkout counters.”

“Alright,” Youngjae scoops Sammy up under the armpits and pulls him out of the shopping cart. “See you in a bit.”

It takes Sammy and Youngjae some fifteen minutes to leave the toy aisle and meet with Jaebum by the checkout counters. Youngjae walks with Sammy perched on his hip, the boy admiring his _Avengers_ ’ toy through its package. Jaebum is talking with a girl – well, she struck up a conversation with him in the first place – who’s about his age and he thinks she’s pretty, but… If they had met on another day, meaning if Jaebum had never met Youngjae, he’d be flirting back with her and asking for her number. But there was a day when he met Youngjae and that day changed everything.

Jaebum sees Youngjae and Sammy coming closer and closer to them. Sammy giggles as Youngjae spins him around, imitating the sound of a plane’s engine. Jaebum smiles like the goddamn fool that he is and the poor girl thinks that she’s the reason why Jaebum is smiling when she’s not.

“Look,” Sammy happily waves the toy box, showing it to Jaebum, “we found The Falcon. Did ya know that his name is Sam like me?”

The girl looks at Jaebum, then at Sammy and then at Youngjae. She starts pointing between the three, “Oh, you two are – and you have – I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, we’re not –” Youngjae tries to explain but the girl is already walking away, pushing her shopping cart. He turns to Jaebum, “Do you want me to talk to her?”

Jaebum shakes his head, a soft smile on his lips. If Youngjae had paid attention to the way he’s looking at him, he would have seen the smitten glint in Jaebum’s eyes.

\---

Sammy watches TV while his uncles put away the groceries and when they're done, he convinces them to play with him, at least until bath time. Youngjae refuses to bath Sammy because he's _'not sure how appropriate it is to be around a naked child_ ' but he also refuses to cook because, well, he sucks at it. Long story short, Jaebum and Youngjae are now in the bathroom while Sammy is in the tub, happily plays with his toys, one of which is a water gun.

“You’re unde’ awest!” Sammy says, pointing the water gun at Youngjae. “Put your hands where I can see them!”

Youngjae plays along, raising his arms over his head, “What have I done, officer?”

“Um,” the hums as he thinks. He looks at Jaebum, seeking for help, “What he do?”

“He stole my heart,” Jaebum says, taking a hand to his chest. “Arrest him, officer.”

Sammy laughs and Youngjae can’t help but to blush as he chuckles and looks away.

“So, can I shoot him?”

Jaebum smirks, “Go for it.”

“No! No, no!” Youngjae whines, walking back until he’s leaning against the tiled wall. “Shoot him. He stole my heart first.”

The kid changes his target, pointing the water gun at Jaebum, “Don’t you dare, kiddo. If you wet me, I’ll leave you two starving for the night.”

Sammy turns to Youngjae again, with a devilish glint in his eyes. The young man quickly argues, “Wet him! We can order pizza.”

“Traitor,” Jaebum, in a playful tone, tells Youngjae just as Sammy aims at his face and presses the trigger of the toy gun.

Youngjae and Sammy laugh, beyond amused; Jaebum bites his lower lip, face all wet.

Jaebum wipes his face to the bath towel and then holds it in front of Sammy, “C’mon, you’ve had enough fun. It’s time to step out.”

Sammy throws his toys out of the tub before standing up, letting his uncle tightly wrap him with the bath towel. Jaebum transfers Sammy to Youngjae’s arms.

“Get him in his jammies while I tidy up the bathroom and order a pizza.”

Youngjae carries Sammy to Jaebum’s bedroom and gently tosses him onto bed, making him giggle. While he turns to the kid’s bag, to get a pair of clean underwear and his pajamas, Sammy unwraps the towel from around his body and is jumping up and down in bed, completely naked.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Youngjae quickly swirls on his heels to face him, “no jumping on the bed while naked.”

“Can I jump on the bed with my jammies on?”

“No, you can’t,” Youngjae holds out the little boxer briefs in front of Sammy. “Come on, put these on.”

The rest evening isn’t too eventful. They eat pizza while watching _Up!_ – Sammy’s choice – when Jaebum gets a call from Mark. He and Jinyoung have just arrived to Seoul and are waiting to board in on the plane to Busan (and then they’ll have to get on the train from there to Jinyoung’s hometown). Jaebum goes to his bedroom for a while, to tell Mark that Sammy believes that they are going bring a baby home (apparently, they _are_ in the middle of the process to adopt a two-year-old boy named Daniel), and then Youngjae gets to talk with Jinyoung a little too, giving him his condolences. Only now is Sammy’s turn to talk with his parents on the phone, a conversation that extends itself until it’s time for the boy to go to sleep. Youngjae and Jaebum tuck Sammy to bed (Jaebum’s bed) and leave the bedroom once the little boy is almost asleep, cuddling his stuffed bear against his chest. The two return to their seats on the couch, watching some TV series that is on.

“Are you gonna sleep with Sammy?” Youngjae asks during the commercial break.

“I’m counting on it. Unless he decides to take up the whole bed and makes me sleep on the couch.”

“Well, if he does take up the whole bed, you can – uh – come sleep with me.”

“I – uh – no – it’s fi – fine. The couch – the couch is fine, Jae.” Jaebum finds it embarrassing how much he stutters.

Youngjae looks at him, his cheeks red-tinted, “We’re both adults. We can share a bed, right?” 

“Yeah. I just don’t think it’s necessary. Thanks, though.”

“Ok, so I – I’m gonna go to bed now,” Youngjae says somewhat awkwardly. “G’ night, hyung.”

“’Night, Jae.”

About an hour after going to bed, Jaebum gets up and pads the way to Youngjae’s bedroom, pillow under his arm. He lies down in bed next to him, trying not to wake him up, but it turns out Youngjae wasn’t sleeping yet.

“Did he take up the whole bed?” Youngjae mumbles.

“He’s sprawled right in the middle of the bed, like a starfish. Kicked me a couple of times too.”

Youngjae sleepily chuckles, “I won’t you kick, hyung. Don’t worry.” He shifts in bed, getting comfortable, “G’ night, Bumie.”

“Night, Jae.”

(In the middle of the night, when Youngjae is already snoring, Jaebum throws his arms around him, cuddling him close to his body. In Jaebum’s bed, Sammy sleeps peacefully, taking up _half_ the bed… and Youngjae didn’t need to know that.)


	3. Chapter 3

Jaebum wakes up to the soft sounds coming from the TV in the living room. He shifts in bed, not understanding how come he and Youngjae managed to get into this position. They are quite literally tangled up in one another. He doesn’t care though, despite feeling pain in his back, because having Youngjae in his arms like this is worth it. He cuddles the younger closer, feeling his warm body pressed against his. He buries his nose in Youngjae’s neck and plans on staying like this until… well, until he’d wake up and wonder why they’re cuddling. However, Jaebum is reminded by the TV that they have a guest staying at the apartment. Slowly getting out of bed, he realizes that he has overslept. It’s past 10, Sammy is already up, watching cartoons in the living room; it amazes Jaebum how come Sammy managed to access Netflix and pick a cartoons show to watch.

“Hey, kiddo,” Jaebum says, leaning over the back of the couch, tickling Sammy’s belly. “You’re up already?”

“Yeah,” he giggles, biting the tip of his rosy tongue. “My tummy hurts. I’m really hungry.”

“Let’s fix that then.”

Sammy rolls off the couch and runs the few steps to Jaebum who’s already in the kitchen, having decided that his and Youngjae’s breakfast will be buttered toasts. He picks Sammy up under and sits him on one of the bar stools, fetching a bowl, the cereals and the milk.

“Uncle JB, can we go to the beach today? I wanna make a huge sandcastle. And play ball too. Uncle Jae loves soccer, maybe he’ll play with me. Do you think he’ll play with me?”

“I’m sure he will, kiddo. But if we do go to the beach, we’ll only go after lunch.” Jaebum explains, “I have to take Nora for a hair trim. Uncle Jae’s allergies are getting worse.”

“But we can go anyways, right? After lunch?”

Jaebum thinks for a minute there, pouring two glasses with chocolate milk, – milk that they had bought _for Sammy_ the day before – one for himself, the other for Youngjae.

“Uncle Jae doesn’t like the beach that much. If he says he doesn’t wanna go, then we’re not going.”

“We could go. You and me.”

“We could, but it’s not as fun without Uncle Jae, is it?”

The boy shakes his head. “Uncle Jae has to come with us! Why he don’t like the beach?” He eats another spoonful of cereals and speaks at the same time, some milk dripping from the corner of his mouth, “The beach is awesome!”

“Well, he’s got his motives.”

 _Stupid motives_ , Jaebum thinks. He knows that Youngjae has always had some complexes about the way he looks, so anything that implies having to show a little more skin makes him a little uncomfortable. He has even been going to the gym recently, in hopes of getting fitter. Jaebum can tell that the workout program is being fruitful because every time Youngjae steps out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, Jaebum can’t help but to shamelessly check him out, noticing that he has become somewhat more slender and that his body is becoming more toned and defined.

“Can you go get Uncle Jae? Nora’s appointment is in half an hour and I really have to hurry up.”

Sammy nods his head and jumps down his seat, dashing to his Uncle’s bedroom. Jaebum is munching on a piece of toast as he hears Sammy jumping up and down Youngjae’s bed, telling him all about the day’s plan. Just like it happened in the morning before, Sammy manages to get the sleepyhead Youngjae out of his bed; Jaebum really wants to keep the kid around since he can make Youngjae get out his bed in less than five minutes.

Jaebum wolfs down three pieces of toast, chugs down his glass of chocolate milk and goes to his bedroom to get dressed. Then he manages to coax Nora into entering the carrier and is almost out the door when Youngjae calls him.

“Hyung? Since you’re going out, do you think you can get me some antihistamines? I only have two pills left.”

“Got it,” he says, making the way to the kitchen where Sammy and Youngjae are still at, having breakfast. “And don’t worry about lunch. I’ll buy us something on the way home, alright?” Without realizing it, Jaebum presses a kiss to the top of both Sammy’s and Youngjae’s heads. “See you later, boys.”

“Finished my cereals,” Sammy says. “Let’s go take Coco for a walk.”

Youngjae, who’s still blushing with Jaebum’s sudden display of affection, manages to speak, “Go ahead and get ready. I’ll check on you in a bit.”

“No need, Uncle Jae. Imma grown-up!”

And with that he runs out of the kitchen, being followed by Coco.  

\---

Jaebum would have entered the apartment unnoticed by Youngjae and Sammy if Coco hadn’t run to the door and started barking as soon as he turned the key on the lock.

“Wait a minute,” Jaebum is talking to the dog, trying his best not to trip over the little white furry being. “I’ll let you see your friend if you just let me enter the door!”

Youngjae and Sammy, who are sitting on the floor around the coffee table, doodling, look back at the front door.

“Coco, c’mere,” Youngjae calls out as he gets up from the floor; the dog obeys, jumping onto Sammy’s lap. “What do you want me to hold?” he asks somewhat hopelessly when he meets Jaebum at the door.

In his right hand Jaebum is holding Nora’s carrier and a small paper bag – that Youngjae’s assumes to contain his antihistamines – and on his left hand he carries a bigger paper bag and a drink carrier with three cups in it, both the bag and the cups bearing McDonald’s logo.

“These,” Jaebum says, stretching out his left hand. “I already have a cramp in my hand.”

Youngjae promptly takes the drinks and bag with food from his hands and leaves them over the coffee table. Jaebum follows him, putting down Nora’s carrier, setting her free. Sammy laughs out loud when the cat steps out, her fur practically all shaved.

“Nora looks funny!” he says between chuckles.

“Thank Uncle Jae for that,” Jaebum tells him, handing Youngjae the paper bag that has his antihistamines.

“It’s not my fault, hyung,” he whines on his way to the bathroom to leave the pills in the cabinet. “I didn’t choose to be allergic to animal’s hair.”

While Youngjae is in the bathroom and Jaebum is putting away Nora’s carrier, Sammy shoves his crayons and the doodled on sheets of paper into his backpack, so that the three of them can use the coffee table for lunch. Youngjae and Jaebum join him shortly after, handing out the burgers, fries, condiments and drinks between the three of them. Youngjae lifts the top slice of bread of his burger to see if Jaebum remembered to order his without gherkin – Youngjae hates cucumbers with a burning passion. He smiles, realizing that Jaebum didn't forget about it.

Sammy taps Jaebum’s arm, excitedly telling him, “Uncle Jae saided yes!”

Jaebum frowns, “Said yes to what?”

“To going to the beach! He saided yes so we can all go!”

“Are you sure?” Jaebum immediately looks at Youngjae. “I know you don’t feel very comfortable being that…” he takes the time to think of the word he wants to use by taking a sip of his drink, “exposed.”

“My thighs have gotten thinner and I’ve got some nice nutella abs. I should be in a better shape considering the time I’ve been going to the gym, but now I like looking at myself in the mirror.”

Jaebum feels conflicted about everything that he's feeling right now. He’s happy that Youngjae feels more comfortable with his current body shape but he’s also sad, knowing that Youngjae didn’t like his body before when there was literally nothing wrong with him. 

“Honestly, there was nothing wrong with your body before, but it’s important that you feel comfortable in your own skin. If you feel that way now, then I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Youngjae says softly, looking down at the surface of the table. “It means a lot knowing that someone understands why I did this. It’s not that I didn’t like my body, I just didn’t feel comfortable looking at you and at the guys, and see you all in great shape, while I was, well, me,” he chuckles. 

Jaebum opens and closes his mouth a few times, but eventually gives up on speaking; he knows that there’s nothing he can tell Youngjae that will make him believe that he was, is, and will always be, perfect.

“Um, we need to go to my house,” Sammy speaks all of the sudden. “I want my beach ball and my bucket and my shovel.”

“And you need your swim trunks and your beach towel too,” Youngjae tells him. “We’ll go to your house on the way to the beach.”

“And when we’re goin’?”

Jaebum grins, taking one good look at Sammy, “Right after your nap.”

“Don’t need a nap, ’m not sleepy!” the boy protests, unconsciously rubbing his reddish eyes.

Ten minutes later he’s softly snoring in the couch, Nora snuggled up in his embrace.

\---

Sammy walks in little skips ahead of his Uncles. Jaebum brings his and Youngjae’s beach towels, and a beach umbrella that they’ve brought from Mark and Jinyoung’s house, while Youngjae carries Sammy’s things, meaning his beach towel, his swim trunks, his bucket and shovel, and the beach ball. Sammy finds them a good spot, right next to a lifeguard tower. After settling down, Youngjae helps the boy strip off his clothes and wraps the beach towel around his waist so that he can put on his swim trunks without feeling embarrassed by being naked in a somewhat crowded beach.

“Ah, Uncle Jae, it’s ’nough,” Sammy whines.

Youngjae clearly ignores the boy and squirts more sunscreen onto his palm, rubbing it on the boy’s body. “Do you wanna look like a shrimp?”

“’m sticky and yucky!” he looks at Jaebum, hoping that he’ll help him.

“Jae,” Jaebum chuckles, “I think he’s right. That’s enough sunscreen.” Sammy happily runs to his toys when his Uncle advices, “Play under the umbrella, kiddo. The sun is still too intense.”

“I have my hat and lotsa sunscreen,” Sammy explains.

“I know, but play in the shade for a while, ok?” Jaebum asks as he tugs his T-shirt over his head.

Youngjae noticeably gulps, staring at Jaebum’s torso. When he’s caught staring, he tries to play it cool by giving the sunscreen to Jaebum.

“Can you…” Jaebum takes a seat next to Youngjae, back turned to him. “Can you put it on my back?”

Wordlessly Youngjae squirts some lotion onto his palm and tentatively starts rubbing it on Jaebum’s back. His shoulders are so broad that Youngjae wants to lean on them, his skin is so warm that Youngjae wants to leave a trail of little kisses on it.

“Youngjae!” Jaebum calls out for the third time, this time in a louder tone.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t hear his hyung calling him the first two times.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Youngjae clears his throat. “You’re all set.”

“Want me to put sunscreen on you now?”

“No need. I won’t be taking off my clothes.”

Jaebum looks back, “Why not? Where is your confidence in your thinner thighs and nutella abs?”

Youngjae lets out a snort, “It went out the window on our way here.”

“I’ll tell you this as many times as you want me to,” Jaebum looks right into his eyes, “you are gorgeous, Jae. You’re so, so…” he heaves a long, shaky sigh, raising a hand to touch Youngjae’s face, but ends up not doing so. “I’ll be playing with Sammy. Let me know when you need me to put sunscreen on your back, okay?” He leans forward and puts a chaste kiss on Youngjae’s forehead before getting up.

After a long while – Jaebum and Sammy have already gone to the sea twice – Youngjae strips off his clothes and asks Jaebum to put sunscreen on him. Jaebum’s smile is so big that it could rip his face in half. He knew that Youngjae would feel shy and insecure but knowing that his words boosted his confidence makes him happy.

\---

“Do you know what day is today, don’t you?” Youngjae asks looking to his side, to Jaebum who’s also lying down on his towel.

“It’s Wednesday, what about it?”

For Jaebum and Youngjae, Wednesdays means going out to eat Korean food at _Eat Jin_.

“Are we going to Jin hyung’s restaurant with Sammy?”

“Why not?” Jaebum pushes the sunglasses to the tip of his nose. “Do you have any other plans?”

Youngjae shakes his head, “No. But I remember Mark hyung telling me that they haven’t yet taken Sammy to eat Korean food and I think that that’s something special for them? It’s a _first_ , like the first words, the first steps. I don’t wanna steal that from them.”

Sammy comes running to them before Jaebum can speak. “I’m gettin’ hungry!”

“Uncle Jae and I were just talking about dinner.” He beckons the kid to lie down next to him. “What’d like to eat, kiddo?”

“Spaghetti tacos!”

“That makes no sense,” Youngjae chuckles, lying on his side, propping his head on his hand. “Pick one. Spaghetti or tacos?”

“Um, we eated spaghetti yesterday so, tacos?” he looks between his Uncles.

Jaebum nods, “Ok, let’s go home and wash off this sand and then get some tacos.”

\---

Throughout the whole dinner, Jaebum notices how two women hadn’t yet stopped looking at the three of them, especially at Sammy. He decides not to mention it to Youngjae or else he’d get paranoid, trying to figure out if they are child rapists who want to kidnap Sammy, or if they are homophobic people waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a scene. When they finish having dinner, one of the women gets up and catches up with them before they leave the restaurant.

“Can I speak with you for a second?” she asks, gently placing a hand on Jaebum’s shoulder.

He’s still fitting his wallet in his pocket when he looks back at the woman. “Yeah, sure.” He hands the car keys to Youngjae and tells him, “You guys go ahead. I’ll meet you in a bit.”

Youngjae doesn’t feel very comfortable leaving Jaebum behind, but he grabs the keys and holds Sammy’s hand. He keeps on looking back at the restaurant as the two of them make the way to the car, Sammy happily jumping over the cracks in the pavement.

“What the lady wanna talk with Uncle JB?”

“She probably just wants his number to ask him on a date.”

“Uh,” Sammy hums and falls quiet for a moment. “So she wanna be Uncle JB’s girlfriend?”

“Probably, yeah.”

Youngjae is buckling Sammy into his car seat when he asks again, “And you’re not mad at Uncle JB?”

“Why would I be mad at Uncle JB?”

“’cause you like him and the lady wants to be his girlfriend.”

Luckily Youngjae doesn’t have to answer Sammy because his phone rings; it’s Jinyoung, wanting to speak with his son.

Youngjae has just climbed onto the passenger’s seat when Jaebum enters the car. “What did she want?”

“Nothin’,” Jaebum says but then realizes that Sammy is on the phone and won’t pay attention to what they’re talking. He puts the keys in the ignition and tells Youngjae, “They’re lesbian and wanted to know about Sammy’s adoption.”

“But we don’t know anything about it other than what Mark hyung and –”

“They thought Sammy was our kid.”

Youngjae can only let out an, “Oh.” 

Jaebum and Youngjae don’t speak during the whole ride, only Sammy’s voice can be heard as he excitedly talks with his parents.

The boy doesn’t seem to want to let go of the phone, even though they have already arrived at the apartment. It’s Mark and Jinyoung who end the phone call because they know that it’s time for their son to go to sleep. Jaebum wants to help Youngjae dealing with Sammy’s bedtime routine, but the younger says he’ll do it. After changing Sammy into his jammies and helping him brush his teeth, Youngjae tucks him to bed, giving him his stuffed bear. When Youngjae takes a seat on the couch next to Jaebum, he notices that his hyung is lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to whatever is playing on the TV. 

“Are you mad at me?” Jaebum suddenly blurts.

“Because of what happened at the restaurant?” Youngjae frowns, “Why would I be mad at you, hyung? It’s not –”

“It’s not about the lesbians… It’s about what happened at the beach.”

Youngjae is still confused, “Which was?”

“I know I made you feel uncomfortable at the beach. You didn’t want to take off your clothes and I should have respected that. I feel like I pushed you into doing it. And,” he rushes to add, stopping Youngjae from speaking, “even though the way I said it wasn’t perfect, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t mean it. I do think that you are gorgeous, you’re cute and sexy at the same time, and you have a really big heart, you are always so bright and –”

Youngjae shuts him up, pressing their lips together, softly, slowly. He feels like he’s just been set on fire. Jaebum pulls back and when Youngjae opens his mouth to speak, his eyes almost opening too, he feels Jaebum kissing his lower lip, gently capturing it between his teeth. The low groan that Youngjae tries to repress – but fails – makes him smirk a little before fully pressing his lips against Youngjae’s again. This time he feels pressure back. Jaebum’s hand rests on his hip and leans over Youngjae’s body, making him slowly lie down on the couch. As he presses their bodies, his tongue slides into Youngjae’s mouth. He lets out a throaty moan when their tongues meet. It feels like they’ve kissed a million times before as they move in perfect harmony. It’s a long, gentle kiss, neither of them fights for dominance; they’re just savoring each other, slowly, thoroughly. Jaebum’s hand is still on Youngjae’s hip, while one of the younger’s hand is carding through his hyung’s hair. When they do pull back, they’re gasping, eyes still closed, their warm, moisty breaths mingling together.

“I’m not sorry,” Jaebum whispers, resting his forehead against Youngjae’s.

Youngjae lightly traces Jaebum’s jawline with his index finger, that hot feeling coursing through his veins again. “Sit up,” he asks, patting his shoulders.

“I would never do anything without your consent,” the older says as he sits up.

“I know,” Youngjae pushes himself up into a sitting position too. “It's just – Sammy is in the next room. It's awkward.”

The two fall silent, the only thing that can be heard in the room is the TV. Jaebum and Youngjae had never felt like this around each other. They try to ignore each other by watching TV, but to make things even more awkward, a condom commercial comes up. The two start laughing, embarrassed. Once they laughter slowly subdues, the awkward silence lingers in the living room again.

Jaebum is the first to speak, “I don’t want things to be awkward between us, Jae.”

Youngjae reaches out his hand to grab one of Jaebum’s, “You’re really important to me, hyung. I don’t want anything to ruin our friendship.”

“I’ll still be your friend, no matter what happens.” Swallowing hard, he looks at Youngjae, “Where does this leave us?”

“Can we talk about this when we’re alone?”

“We’re alone now,” he smirks.

“You know what I mean.”

Jaebum adopts Youngjae’s serious posture. “Promise me just one thing.” He only resumes speaking when Youngjae looks at him, “Don’t overthinking, ok?”

Youngjae nods and lets go of Jaebum’s hand. “I’m gonna get some sleep. You can take my bed, I’ll sleep with Sammy tonight. I –”

“I understand, Jae. G’ night.”

“’Night, hyung.”

Not even an hour later, Jaebum decides to go to bed as well. He takes up Youngjae’s bed, falling asleep almost instantly, wrapped in the bed sheets impregnated with Youngjae’s scent.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One: I took a lot of time to update and for that I have no other excuse other than I'm lazy af.  
> Two: The last part of this chapter wasn't not going to be exactly like that but I'm just softer and a little dramatic when I'm on *those* days...

Youngjae wakes up with light pats to his cheek. At first he thinks it might be Coco or Nora doing so but when he hears Sammy speaking, he remembers that he’s sleeping in Jaebum’s bed with the kid.

“Hi, Uncle Jae,” Sammy happily chirps when Youngjae opens his eyes. “Uncle JB is still sleepin’. I wakeded you up first.”

“Thanks,” he sleepily mumbles, lying on his back; he’s being sarcastic but luckily the four-year-old can’t understand that.

Sammy lies on top of Youngjae’s chest, “Uncle Jae, why Uncle JB always cooks? Why don’t ya cook?”

“Because I’m terrible at cooking.”

“So ya can’t cook?”

“I can make so really good PB&J sandwiches.”

“Then can we cook bweakfast today? Daddy and Appa always take turns cooking so we could make breakfast for Uncle JB.”

“You know what?” Youngjae sits up, securing the kid in his lap by lacing his arms around him, “That’s a great idea. Let’s make breakfast.”

Youngjae carries Sammy in his arms to the kitchen, sitting him at one of the bar stools to gather all the ingredients he’ll need to make breakfast. Very quickly Youngjae prepares three peanut butter and jam sandwiches (Sammy’s only has peanut butter as he’s allergic to strawberries), chops some fruits that they had lying around in little slices into a little bowl, and prepares two cups of coffee and a glass of juice for Sammy. The breakfast is very simple but Youngjae feels proud of the final result. Well, the result is good but he decides to add a little detail to Sammy’s sandwich.

“Sammy, no,” Youngjae adverts when he sees the boy almost feeding a grape to Coco. “She’ll choke on it.”

The kid pops the grape into his mouth instead before climbing onto the kitchen island’s countertop, peeking at what his faux Uncle is doing.

“Wow, so cool,” he mumbles as he’s still munching on the grape, wiping the juice that drips from the corner of his mouth to the sleeves of his pajamas. “It’s puzzle pieces!”

Youngjae grins proudly, focusing on continuing to cut Sammy’s sandwich into bits that resemble puzzle pieces.

“Help me climb down,” Sammy asks, stretching his arms at Youngjae. “Imma call Uncle JB.”

As soon as he’s put down on the floor, he rushes out the kitchen.

“Hey, wake up, Uncle JB,” Sammy softly calls, patting Jaebum’s shoulder.

Jaebum's eyes flutter open and he lets out a quiet groan as he stretches. “Morning, kiddo. What time is it?” he sits up, scratching the back of his head. “Do ya want breakfast?”

Sammy smirks, grabbing Jaebum’s hand, “Come. Uncle Jae and me have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?”

“Yup. Come see.”

When Jaebum enters the kitchen being led by Sammy, he smiles, taking in the sight of Youngjae and of the breakfast he managed to prepare.

“Is it my birthday?” Jaebum asks with a smirk, sitting at one of the bar stools.  

Youngjae turns away from the drawers, putting the forks he’s holding in the fruit’s bowl, "Sammy asked me why you're always the one who cooks."

Jaebum takes a seat at one of the bar stools and tells him as he picks him up and sits him on his lap, "That’s because he can't cook to save his life."

"I know," Sammy says, "he saided that too. But he saided that he makes really good PB&J sandwiches so I asked him if we could make breakfast for you and ta-dah," he gestures at the meal before them, “we maded breakfast.”

Youngjae scratches his nape, "It’s the best I can do."

"It’s more than enough," Jaebum pats the empty bar stool next to his, for Youngjae to have a seat as well.

“Look at my sandwich,” Sammy pats Jaebum’s chest, getting his attention. “It’s puzzle pieces.”

\---

Sammy tells Youngjae that he doesn’t want to take Coco out for a walk – Youngjae ends up going alone – because he wants to stay in the apartment all day, wearing his pajamas – which he does. Jaebum soon enough understands that Sammy has ulterior motives for wanting to stay at the apartment, other than not wanting to change clothes. He finds out what that motive is when he goes to the bathroom, leaving the boy in the living room, watching TV. Jaebum comes back to find Sammy peeking inside the doors and drawers of the TV unit.

“What’re you lookin’ for?”  

The boy crawls back just enough to look at Jaebum, “The PS4.”

It took him three days to remember about Youngjae’s and Jaebum’s PlayStation 4. As Youngjae is a videogame addict, he only sets it up on the weekends, holidays and vacations, to avoid spending hours on end playing.

“Well, the PS4 is Uncle Jae’s, so you can ask him about where is it, and if he lets you play, when he’s back.”

Jaebum knows where the PS4 is, and he also knows that Youngjae will let the boy play, but just wants Sammy to forget about it or else those two will start playing and turn into couch potatoes. Sammy nods and climbs onto the couch, inviting his Uncle to watch cartoons with him. Jaebum starts to get a headache ten minutes into _SpongeBob_ , finding the character annoying. He thanks to heavens when Sammy lies down on the couch, head resting on his leg, and changes to some superhero cartoons. Nora climbs onto the couch a little later and curls up next to Jaebum, meowing and nuzzling his hand; he ends up petting his cat with one hand, and stroking his faux-nephew’s hair with the other. Jaebum tilts his head back, letting it rest the couch’s back, and closes his eyes; he doesn’t nod off, but he’s pretty close to do so. He doesn’t hear Youngjae entering the apartment but he jolts awake from his sleep-like state when Sammy quickly rolls off the couch.

“Uncle Jae, can I play PS4?”

“Yeah, sure,” he says, unclipping Coco’s leash. “Uncle JB could have set it up for you already.”

“He saided to ask you if I could play.”

Youngjae simply nods as he walks straight to the TV unit and pulls out the PS4 and its respective controllers. Jaebum starts plugging in the videogame console while Youngjae places his stack of games over the coffee table.

“These are all we have. Choose whatever you want.”

“Don’t let him choose. We have games that we aren’t suitable for his age,” Jaebum reasons.

Youngjae doesn’t even have time to speak as Sammy holds a videogame case, “I wanna play this one.”

It’s _Grand Theft Auto V_.

“Nope,” Jaebum snatches it from him right away. “You can’t play that.” He quickly goes through the pile of videogames, “Look, why don’t you play FIFA? You like soccer –”

“I don’t want that one. Can it be this one then?” Now he holds up a _Need For Speed Payback_.

“How old are you, kiddo?” Sammy holds up four fingers which makes Jaebum tap on the lower corner of the game case, “Do you know what number says here? It says 12. It means that only people older than 12 years old can play it.”

Youngjae rolls his eyes, “Can you stop being a grandpa? It’s just a street racing game. It’s not like he’s going to be driving like this when he’s 16.”

“When I’m all grown-up, I’m gonna drive jus’ like you, Uncle JB, don’t worry,” Sammy proudly chirps.

“See, Grandpa? Nothing to worry about,” Youngjae says, grabbing the game. “He’s gonna be a good driver when he’s a grown-up.”

One compliment from Youngjae and Jaebum loses all ability to argue. He heaves a soft sigh and turns to the PS4 again, continuing to connect it to the TV.

They lose track of the time they spend playing. Sammy and Jaebum gang up and try their best to sabotage Youngjae until the little boy ends up kicking his faux-Uncle off his team because he can’t play. Jaebum pretends to be very hurt (Youngjae and Sammy laugh with his theatrics) but doesn’t mind sticking to just watching the other two play. Eventually they start to get hungry so they just end up ordering Thai food ( _Sammy’s eyes sparkle with excitement, “Thai food like the food Uncle Bam eats in Thailand?”_ ). The trio eats watching _The Simpsons_ , and Jaebum gets excited when he realizes that the channel is having a three-hour-long marathon. After lunch, Youngjae gives Coco a bath while Jaebum and Sammy are watching the cartoons on the couch. Youngjae returns to the living room, mildly scolding Coco (she keeps on scratching herself on any surface she sees) and finds Jaebum sleeping on the couch and Sammy playing with his toys.

"You're not sleepy today?"

Sammy shakes his head, "No, 'm good. And I'm being really quiet so that Uncle JB can sleep."

Youngjae smiles, ruffling the boy's hair; he's such a sweet kid. "Wanna play in the bedroom instead?"

“Play with me?”

“Sure,” Youngjae says, helping the boy gathering his toys and taking them to Youngjae’s bedroom.

“Uncle Jae, babies can play with cars and superheroes and Legos? I mean, not little babies. I mean a big babies, like two-year-old babies.”

“They don’t have much understanding yet but they can play along. Why do you ask?”

“’cause this is my favorite car,” Sammy holds up a blue Dodge Challenger, “and I’m gonna let Danny play with it.”

Youngjae now understands that telling Sammy that his parents went to get his little brother wasn’t the best idea. The boy is expecting to see Mark and Jinyoung bringing a two-year-old along with them the next day. Youngjae sighs thoroughly and decides that he has tell the truth to the boy now; he’s not planning on telling him about his grandfather’s death but he knows that he has to let Sammy know that he’s not going to see his little brother. 

"C'mere, buddy," Youngjae beckons and then pulls him to his lap once the boy has crawled closer to him. "Remember the time before you lived with your Daddy and Appa?"

Sammy nods, "I lived in a big house with other boys and girls." He crinkles his nose, "I didn't liked it."

"I know," he heaves a sigh. "But you remember that your Dads visited you there a few times before they brought you home, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"The same thing is happening with your little brother. Your Dads visit him there but it's not yet time to bring him home."

"So when Daddy and Appa are back tomorrow they're comin' alone? Danny is not comin'?"

Youngjae shakes his head, "Sorry, buddy." He cuddles the boy closer against his chest, trying to cheer him up, "But I'm sure that really, really soon he'll be coming home."

"How soon?"

"I don't know. But really soon. Promise."

“You and Uncle JB should have one of me.”

Youngjae frowns, “What do you mean? We already have you.” He tickles the boy’s sides.

Sammy speaks between giggles, “But I’m Daddy’s and Appa’s. You and Uncle JB should have one of me so I can have someone to play with me.”

“Literally _everyone_ plays with you, kid. What’re you talking about?”

“But ya’ll all grown-ups.” He tilts his head back to look at his Uncle, “Why don’t you and Uncle JB have one of me?”

“People just can’t have children with other people just because, Sammy.”

The boy cocks his head, “But when two people like each other they get babies."

“Well, but Uncle JB and I are not together.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” Youngjae sighs. “Because we’re really good friends and I don’t want to lose him. He’s really important to me, Sammy. If we’d ever have a fight and break up then we wouldn’t be friends anymore. And then one of us would have to move out and… It’s a mess, kid.”

“Grown-ups are weird,” Sammy concludes, sliding down Youngjae’s lap and going back to his toys.

Youngjae lets out a snorted laugh, “Yeah. Grown-ups are weird.”

\---

Jaebum and Youngjae spend the rest of the afternoon playing with Sammy. Jaebum notices that Youngjae is strangely quiet; every time that there’s a duller moment, Youngjae is deep in his thoughts and only seems to snap out of them when Sammy speaks at him. He fears that the thoughts and doubts regarding their kiss are only now taking over Youngjae’s brain. Jaebum decides not to bring anything up and eventually excuses himself to go take care of dinner.

Sammy is reluctant with the idea of taking a bath but at least he doesn’t make a fuss over dinner (Jaebum found this box of fish nuggets in the freezer, so that’s what they dined). After dinner that was eaten in relative silence, Youngjae seemingly avoiding any eye contact with Jaebum, the three of them play videogames for a while more. Sammy ends up falling asleep and is taken to Jaebum’s bed, leaving the two adults alone. Jaebum feels nervous all of the sudden. It’s not just the two of them, playing _Call of Duty_ in an absolutely painful silence.

“I’m scared,” Youngjae suddenly says, a mixture of insecurity and honesty in his tone.

“You better be ‘cause I’m about to kick your ass.”

“It’s not about the game,” the younger confesses, gently tossing the game controller onto the couch to his side.  

Jaebum knew that it isn’t about the game but he just didn’t have it in him to straightway ask Youngjae what’s wrong.

“You’ve been awfully quiet this afternoon,” Jaebum states. “You won’t even look at me.”

Youngjae heaves a long sigh, preparing himself to speak. His gaze is focused on his fingers that play with the hem of his T-shirt. “You have no idea of how much I want this.” Only now he looks up, meeting Jaebum’s eyes for the first time in hours, “But I’m scared. What happens if we fight and break up? Are we gonna be two awkward people in gatherings with our friends? Which one of us will have to move out of the apartment? Yes,” tears are brimming in his eyes by now, “because I know we said that things between us wouldn’t change, that we’d stay friends, but that’s just obvious bullshit. I don’t think we’d endure the situation for too much long.”

“And why are you only thinking that things between us are gonna flunk? Do you think that low of me or you just don’t believe in yourself enough?”

There’s silence for a while before Youngjae admits, “A bit of both.”

Jaebum snakes an arm around Youngjae’s waist and pulls him to his lap, allowing him to, in that position, feel in control. Youngjae is straddling Jaebum, his knees placed on each side of the other’s legs, so, because of the closeness, he avoids looking at Jaebum again.

“Look at me,” Jaebum asks softly. Youngjae doesn’t comply, so he insists. “Look at me, Jae.” It’s the even softer tone of voice and the slow circles that Jaebum rubs with his thumb on his thigh that make Youngjae look up. “All of your exes took you for granted, never loved you the way you deserve to be loved but I… I know I won’t always be able to make you happy because I’m only human, but I know that I’ll never ever be the cause of your sadness. I’m more than ok being just friends with you if that’s what you want. Like I said, you mean a lot to me and I don’t want to lose you.”

“I just want someone to really mean it when they say they love me,” Youngjae whispers, eyes fluttering close.

Jaebum feels a lump in his throat as he speaks, “They all fucked you up so bad.”

He leans forward, leaving little kisses on Youngjae’s neck. He then slowly moves up, peppering the Youngjae’s face with soft, little kisses. The younger can only gasp, leaning into the touch of his warm lips against his skin. Jaebum starts to realize that Youngjae had never been treated with such tenderness and affection before and it breaks his heart.

“I’m gonna do this the way right, Jae,” Jaebum says, pulling back, breath slightly ragged. “I know that we already know each other far too well, but I’m gonna take you on a date. And I’m gonna take as many baby steps as you want me to.” He looks into Youngjae’s eyes, one hand coming to cup his cheek, “I’m gonna fix what they broke.”

Youngjae nods and lets his head rest on the crook of Jaebum’s neck. “Can you sleep with me tonight?”

“Of course I can.”

They turn off the TV, change into their sleeping clothes and slip into bed. Jaebum immediately throws his arms around Youngjae and cuddles him; the younger greatly appreciates the gesture.


	5. Chapter 5

Jaebum wakes up to an empty bed, finding Nora napping where Youngjae should be. His first thought is that the youngest slipped out of bed some time during the night but when he hears Sammy’s and Youngjae’s voices coming from somewhere in the apartment, he sits up in bed. A smile takes up Jaebum’s face as he follows the sound of their voices and finds out that it come from the bathroom. The door is slightly open so he quietly takes a peek at what they’re doing; Youngjae is bathing Sammy. The night before, over dinner, Jaebum commented that he had received a text from Jinyoung saying that their flight is scheduled to arrive at around 11:30, so once Sammy heard it, he immediately asked his Uncles if they could pick them up at the airport. The two agreed; Jinyoung and Mark would probably appreciate seeing familiar faces after going through so much stress.

“Tilt your head back,” Youngjae asks as he scoops some water with a bowl to pour down Sammy’s head.

“I got water in ears,” the boy whines.

“It’ll come out, don’t worry.” He gets up to his feet to grab the bath towel and that’s when he sees Jaebum standing there.

Sammy notices his Uncle too. “Good morning, Uncle JB!” he happily chirps.

“Hi there,” Jaebum grins, his gaze shifting from Sammy to Youngjae. “You woke up earlier than me, that’s a first.”

Youngjae smirks, turning his attention to the little boy, “I had a good night of sleep.”

“Uncle JB, I want cereal for breakfast.”

“Gotcha.” He then speaks at Youngjae, “I’ll take care of breakfast. Get him dressed and pack his things in the meantime, ‘k?”

“Yeah,” Youngjae looks back, “don’t worry.”

It doesn’t take Sammy and Youngjae too long to show up in the kitchen. As soon as they enter, the little boy climbs up onto one of the barstools. Jaebum looks back and catches himself smiling. Sammy looks like a little man; Youngjae dressed him in a chambray button-down and black denim jeans, and combed his hair in a 2:8 side-part.

“I didn’t get the chance to properly tell you good morning, so,” Youngjae approaches Jaebum and gives him a chaste peck on the lips, “good morning, Bumie.”

Like the flick of a switch, a smile brightens Jaebum’s face, a sense of happiness overflowing him and pouring out of all of his pores.

Still grinning like a fool, he manages to say, “Good morning to you too.”

And then he leans in to steal another peck from Youngjae. And another one. And one more.

“Breakfast first, smooch later!” Sammy whines, banging his hands on the countertop.

Youngjae lets out an embarrassed squeak, his face getting redder by the second, while Jaebum’s smile gets bigger as he fights the urge to squeal like a teenage girl.

\---

Sammy hops off of the car hugging Bubba against his chest and bringing The Falcon on his right hand because he wants to show Daddy and Appa his new superhero. Jaebum focuses on guiding the little boy ahead of him through the crowded airport while following Youngjae who’s guiding the two of them (Jaebum’s sense of direction is exceptionally terrible). They get to the Arrivals and take a seat as they wait. The flight from Seoul had already landed a while ago, which means that Mark and Jinyoung should be showing up any time now.

“I think I come here before,” Sammy comments. “Yeah, I did.” the boy then nods. “To get Harabeoji and Halmeoni. It was for Christmas. They bring me a big, big fire twuck, a buncha chocolates and lotsa clothes. Is Christmas too far away?” he asks, looking between the two of them. “I wanna see Harabeoji and Halmeoni again.”

For a moment there, both Jaebum and Youngjae are at a loss for words until the older speaks, “It’s still a long time til Christmas. The more you think about it, the longer it’ll take til it’s finally here.”

“Ah, ‘kay,” he hums. “But they’re gonna bring presents for me and presents for Danny right? I don’t have to share ‘verything with Danny?”

Youngjae chuckles, “No, you won’t have to share everything with Danny.”

This time, the little simply nods and starts playing with his action figure, running around the row of seats they’re sitting at. Jaebum places his hand on Youngjae’s knee and looks at him. Youngjae meets his eyes as he places his hand on top of Jaebum’s.

“Is there any place you’d like to go?”

“Like, right now?” Youngjae seems confused, nose crinkling; Jaebum smiles.

“I meant a place to go on our date.”

“Oh. I – anywhere is fine, hyung. I don't want to go anywhere fancy –”

“Why? You deserve anything and everything, Jae.”

Youngjae pretends to gag, “It’s too early for this much cheesiness, hyung.”

“I’m not being cheesy, I’m being romantic. At least I’m trying.”

“Alright, ok. But I mean what I said. I don’t want to go anywhere fancy because we have to keep a certain posture, we can’t be ourselves.” He looks at Jaebum and offers a shy smile, “I just wanna be with you, wherever that place is.”

Jaebum smirks, “Ok, who’s being cheesy now?”

Youngjae laughs as he mimics Jaebum’s earlier response, “I’m not being cheesy, I’m being romantic.”

“You just love to tease me, don’t you?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He loudly laughs again when he looks at the incredulous expression on Jaebum’s face.

Jaebum is ready to tease Youngjae back when he takes in the sight of a little kid running farther away from where they’re sitting. He’s reminded that Sammy is with them.

“Where’s Sammy?” He gets up and starts looking around, heart in his throat when he can’t Sammy.

“Over there,” Youngjae points and pulls Jaebum by the hand.

Sammy had spotted Mark and Jinyoung and immediately ran to them, but as he’s so happy to see them again, he didn’t even remember to tell his Uncles. Jinyoung lets go of his luggage right away and squats, waiting for the boy to run into his embrace. Mark tries his best not to divert Sammy’s attention from Jinyoung; he wants their son to greet and hug Jinyoung first. The Korean hugs his son tightly, kissing the side of his head as he stands up, still holding the boy.

“I want a burger hug!” Sammy asks.

Jinyoung looks at Mark, repeating, “Burger hug.”

A burger hug, as Mark calls it, is nothing more than Jinyoung and Mark hugging while Sammy is between them.

“I miss ya guys lots.”

“We missed you too, buddy,” Mark says.

Sammy is put down on his feet and the three walk to meet with Jaebum and Youngjae who watch them from afar.

“Look,” he proudly shows his superhero figure, “Uncle JB and Uncle Jae give me The Falcon.”

“Did you say thank you?” Jinyoung asks.

“I thanked Uncle Jae lots of times. I don’t think I say thank you to Uncle JB. He was was talkin’ with a girl when we sawed him.” He giggles, “She was silly. She thinked Uncle JB liked her. Uncle JB likes Uncle Jae.”

Mark smirks, “Well, everyone but them knows that apparently.”

“But it’s ‘kay now. They were kissin’ this morning so I think they’re boyfriends now.”

Jaebum and Youngjae don’t even get a chance of saying hello.

“So we go away for four days and you guys get your tongues down each other’s throats in front of my son?” Jinyoung tells them, pretending to be fuming.

“It was just a peck on the lips,” Youngjae promptly defends himself. Mark is finding Youngjae’s panic something too amusing to watch.

Jinyoung grins, eyes crinkling, “What took you guys so long? Though you could have made out any other time –”

“It was just an innocent peck.” Now it’s Jaebum who’s speaking. “I’m sure you and Mark hyung have done it in front of him.”  

“I’m sorry!” Sammy says loud enough for everyone to hear him.

The four adults chuckle almost all at the same time. Mark goes down on one knee, being at Sammy’s eye-level, to assure him, “It’s ok. No one’s angry, buddy.”

“We’re just making fun of your Uncles for being so silly,” Jinyoung tells him.

The five of them start are making the way to the parking lot when Sammy asks, “So now that Uncle Jae and Uncle JB are together it means that they are getting one of me?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm lazy as hell and I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Also, it took me a little longer because I wrote the chapter. Originally it was going to be about Sammy's 5th birthday but this is a 2jae fic and I figured that I should focus on their happy ending. I won't spoil anything else.  
> I love writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it too. (I'm sorry if this chapter is too mushy...)

The morning starts as lazily as it can get. Jaebum wakes up slowly, stretching his arms over his head, curling his toes under the comforter. He turns his head, looking at the digital clock on the bedside table; it’s past eleven in the morning by now but he doesn’t care because it’s Sunday. He faces the other side of the bed, and to his surprise, he doesn’t find his husband there. Jaebum is about to get out of bed when he sees Youngjae standing at the door of their bedroom, carrying their 17-months-old boy, James Bumyoung, – nicknamed [Bo](http://www.thisissesame.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG_4944.jpg%20) – in arms. One could think that Youngjae has an impeccable sense of timing but Jaebum knows better – he knows that he was probably keeping an eye on him as he slept because he wanted to surprise him. Youngjae takes a seat on the bed and puts Bo in his husband’s lap.

“Hi, Bo Bear,” Jaebum coos and loudly kisses his cheek a couple of times. The little boy shrieks happily.

“What do you have to tell Abeoji?” Youngjae asks, gently teasing the baby’s sides. “Say,” his voice gets a little higher as he mimics a child’s way of speaking, “ _Happy Birthday, Abeoji_.”

Not even the shiniest stars can compete with the brightness of Jaebum’s smile. He leans forward, placing the gentlest of the pecks on Youngjae’s lips. His smile only gets bigger and brighter as he pulls back to look between his husband and their son – he doesn’t need anything else in life.

“Thank you, my sunshine,” he kisses Youngjae’s forehead and then kisses Bo’s, “and my star. My life gets better and better with each day that goes by because of you two.”

“Don’t get all mushy or I’ll cry,” Youngjae says, lightly smacking Jaebum on the arm.

“Ok, ok, I’ll stop,” he stifles a chuckle.

Youngjae gets up and says before he leaves the bedroom, “Be right back. I’m gonna get your present.”

Jaebum nods before turning his attention to Bo who’s scrambling off his lap. He tries to stand up but the soft surface of the mattress doesn’t give him stability to do so. Jaebum lends him a hand, literally. Once he’s on his feet, Bo starts bouncing up and down, giggling as he does so.

“Your legs are getting so strong.” Jaebum lies the boy down on the mattress and gently squeezes his baby-fat thighs. “Fat thighs. Look at these fat thighs.”

Bo laughs hysterically, as usual; he loves it when people squeeze his thighs. Jaebum leans down and lifts Bo’s T-shirt, blowing raspberries on his tummy. He laughs harder, kicking up his little legs.

“’top, ‘top,” Bo says between giggles, trying to push his father’s head away from his belly. Jaebum ends up doing so since the boy is almost out of breath from laughing so much. “Appa!” he points at the door, seeing Youngjae walking in.

“Yeah, it’s Appa. And he’s bringing a present,” Jaebum sits up and sits Bo in his lap again. “Wanna help Abeoji opening it?”

Youngjae places the wrapped box in front of their son, watching the boy immediately lean over to play with the red ribbon.

“You know that you didn’t have to get me anything, right? Having you and Bo is –”

Youngjae presses his index finger against Jaebum’s lips, “Shush and open the gift.”

Bo gets overly excited as he rips the wrapping paper to bits, and while he continues to do so, Jaebum sees what Youngjae got him. He’s stunned.

“Babe,” he gasps – it’s a digital camera, _the_ digital camera he’s been looking forward to buy for months now, “the camera is almost $2000. You shouldn’t have –”

“Bumie, I know how much you wanted it. Ever since this little guy,” Youngjae strokes their son’s hair, “came into our life, we've been postponing buying things for ourselves. Not that I’m complaining. I love our baby boy, he deserves everything,” he looks at Jaebum and smiles softly, “but I love you too...”

Jaebum thanks Youngjae the only way he can – he leans in for a kiss. A slow, tender kiss. “Thank you so much, Jae.”

“I have another gift for you –”

“Jae –”

Youngjae grins cheekily, “But you’re only getting it once we’re alone.” Jaebum immediately figures what he’s talking about. “Bam and Yugyeom agreed to babysit Bo so that we can have some time for ourselves.”

“Can’t wait for tonight’s surprise.”

“Pervert,” the younger playfully says, slapping his chest. “Now, get ready,” he picks Bo in arms and perches him on his hip, “We’re supposed to be at Jin hyung’s restaurant at midday.”

The lunch at _Eat Jin_ is something Jaebum knows of, it has been planned for a week now. It’s a lunch for friends only; Mark and Jinyoung will be there with their three kids – Sammy who’s now ten, Danny who has recently turned eight, and their little girl Lizzy, just a little over three of age – Bambam and Yugyeom are showing up too, and Jackson is coming with whoever he’s dating at the moment – he has a big heart, he loves everyone and still hasn’t found his soul mate.  

Jaebum gets up and walks to the closet, to pick up some clothes to change into. He pulls his T-shirt over his head and just as he’s about to slip into a button down, he looks at the tattoo he has on his wrist. It’s a ‘J’ – a ‘J’ for ‘Jaebum’, a ‘J’ for Jae, a ‘J’ for James – and, on the left side of the letter there’s a little crescent moon, – Jaebum – on the right side there’s a little sun – Youngjae – and over the ‘J’ there’s a little star – Bo. Youngjae has a matching tattoo; they did it a few days after bringing home their little boy.

“You’re not dressed yet?” Youngjae speaks, walking in the bedroom. Jaebum catches a glimpse of Bo heading to the living room, chasing after Coco and Nora.

“C’mere,” Jaebum beckons, his tone soft and frail, his eyes welling up.

Youngjae slowly closes the distance between them, feeling his eyes filling up with tears as well. His heart races as Jaebum gently wraps his hand around his wrist and brings it up to his lips, kissing his tattoo.

"Love you," one of them says quietly, like they’re sharing a secret.

"Love you too,” the other replies in the same tone.

They look into each other’s eyes and smile. They know that nothing else in life can compare to this – they are, and will be always be, blissful, thankful, and deeply in love.  


End file.
